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Tour de France 2006
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_Ω_
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2006-06-30, 04:16

Anyone following the buildup?

Seems it will be an interesting tour this year as many of the top riders are under doping suspicions.

I can't say I have been following it too closely - with 60 hour working weeks and the World Cup being on, so if someone can give a nice update on who is gone, that would be fantastic.


Angels bleed from the tainted touch of my caress
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AWR
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2006-06-30, 04:20

Well, I just kind of tuned in today. Big stuff.

Ullrich out.

Vino out.

Basso on "the list".

I'm throwing my massive and influencial weight behind Landis. Or big George. Or Levi.
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beardedmacuser
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2006-06-30, 05:13

Gutted that Ullrich is out. Shocking. Now that Ullrich, Vino, and maybe Basso are gone and with the likes of Mancebo being Spanish (and probably implicated in this whole mess) I haven't the slightest clue who could win the race. Who knows; it could be one of the guys from the US?

Crap. I was really looking forward to this years tour (in fact I will be in the alps with my bike when the tour passes through).
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beardedmacuser
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2006-06-30, 05:21

Quote:
Originally Posted by _Ω_
I can't say I have been following it too closely - with 60 hour working weeks and the World Cup being on, so if someone can give a nice update on who is gone, that would be fantastic.
"Operation Puerto the list" - Eurosport
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AWR
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2006-06-30, 05:30

Quote:
Originally Posted by beardedmacuser
(in fact I will be in the alps with my bike when the tour passes through).
That sounds nice. What stage(s) might you see?
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beardedmacuser
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2006-06-30, 06:05

OMG!!!!!11!! It's official, both Ullrich and Basso are out of this years Tour. By far the two big names to win the race; and they're gone.

I'd be suprised if Mancebo is allowed to race after Ullrich and Basso have been kicked-out.

Crap... let's hope this years Tour doesn't turn into a farce.
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beardedmacuser
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2006-06-30, 06:08

Quote:
Originally Posted by AWR
That sounds nice. What stage(s) might you see?
Haven't really though about which stages to see, but we're staying near Briancon for a week and halfway through that week the tour passes through Briancon (I think stage 14 from Montelimar to Gap). But of course it'd be good to catch another stage before or after stage 14.
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beardedmacuser
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2006-06-30, 06:12

Yep, another big name rider and a strong contender for a podium in Paris, Mancebo, is out too...
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beardedmacuser
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2006-06-30, 08:10

Ahha! T Mobile were cunning to withdraw Ullrich and Sevilla before the Tour excluded the riders. If a rider is excluded from the Tour at the last minute then there is an agreement that the teams will not replace those riders. However, as T Mobile voluntarily withdrew Ullrich and Sevilla they were able to replace them with other members of the team (Bernucci and Schreck) and they'll start the race on Saturday with a full squad!
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AWR
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2006-06-30, 08:15

bmu is on top of the breaking news!

I was surprised to see that Vino's whole team wasn't invited (or was disinvited, I think).

I think the second half of the top tier of riders has to be wetting themselves with glee and anticipation as nos. 1 and 2 down and out.

It's crazy stuff out there.
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beardedmacuser
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2006-06-30, 09:35

Quote:
Originally Posted by AWR
I think the second half of the top tier of riders has to be wetting themselves with glee and anticipation as nos. 1 and 2 down and out.
It's bizarre... who'd have thought that a rider like Valverde would be emerging as a bit of a favourite. There'll be lengthy discussions tonight with teams rapidly re-shaping their entire tactics for the race.

There's a nice short report putting these developments into perspective written by Chris Boardman on the BBC Sport website here.

On another note, good luck to David Millar tomorrow. Brave guy. The Tour is his first race back following his two year suspension for needlessly taking EPO in his preparation for the World Championship Time Trial in 2003 (which he won although was obviously subsequently disqualified)! It's one thing for a rider to come into the tour lacking top race fitness, but it's phenomenal that he is trying to ride the tour having not raced for two years!
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beardedmacuser
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2006-06-30, 12:49

Quote:
Originally Posted by beardedmacuser
On another note, good luck to David Millar tomorrow.
The BBC Sport website has an interesting interview with David Millar here. Just imagine the comback; banned and no racing for two years then to win possibly the most famous jersey in cycling (the yellow jersey) on his very first day back racing! Although sadly the overall win will be rather beyond him this year.
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Dave
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2006-06-30, 13:00

Quote:
Originally Posted by beardedmacuser
Crap... let's hope this years Tour doesn't turn into a farce.
If this many bikers are already out for doping, I think it might've already done that.
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Dorian Gray
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2006-07-02, 18:27

I have little to say about the doping scandal. I'm still somewhat in shock, but perhaps this will be a good thing in the end. Of course we all said that after the Festina affair too.

Interesting start to the Tour though: Casper winning the sprint from under the noses of the great sprinters (including Boonen who jumped way too early), and wee George in yellow! Why so early? Very strange: I can't imagine Discovery planned that. It seems like a good way to exhaust the team in the first week. But maybe they reckon the sprinters' teams will do all the work in the first week anyway? I don't think Discovery will try to defend the jersey tomorrow.

Is there a slight chance George was trying to make a statement about Popovych being selected as the GC contender for Discovery?

By the way, take a look at Hincapie's legs! Imagine shaving those…

I thought cyclingnews.com had a great description of the finish: Ignoring the mayhem and finding his own, clean line was Jimmy Casper. Working his short, muscular legs like the pistons of a Formula 1 motor car and passing rider after rider as if he really were a ghost, Casper emerged in real life at the finish line, unscathed and victorious.

Pity Hushovd though.
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_Ω_
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2006-07-03, 05:04

Any news if Thor is going to make it to the line today?

Thing that I hate the most about the Tour is that it is one so late where I live. Midnight is a typical start time for me. Combine this with the WC, make Ω a grumpy boy. Have decided to skip the live coverage until they hit the mountains, and the real tour starts!

Off to do some googling....

Angels bleed from the tainted touch of my caress
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AWR
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2006-07-03, 05:19

Hushovd's injury sounds disgusting; sounds like he was spraying himself, fellow racers and spectator's with ghoolish amounts of blood. Wicked.

Fans are always doing dumb shit at the Tour; I remember a couple of years ago Lance catching a handbar on some guys bag on the way up Alpe d'Huez or something and getting thrown to the ground Aikido like.

I understand that the closeness of spectators to the sport is part of the charm, but at those speeds ...

I read this morning that it looks likely that Thor will be on the line today. Good. We don't need anyone else out of the Tour.
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beardedmacuser
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2006-07-03, 12:21

Quote:
Originally Posted by _Ω_
Have decided to skip the live coverage until they hit the mountains, and the real tour starts!
Try telling that to the likes of Thor Hushovd, Robbie McEwen, Tom Boonen, Oscar Freire, Stuart O'Grady, Erik Zabel and fellow sprinters. Also, lots of riders will be dreaming of a chance to be part of a successful break before the mountains. Such a thing can make your name as a cyclist as happened with the likes of Thomas Voeckler and Cedric Vasseur.

You can't really win the Tour in the first week or so, but you can certainly lose it. As happened to Alex Zulle in the 1999 Tour on the Passage du Gois where being held-up behind a crash cost him just over 6 minutes by the end of the stage. By the end of the Tour Armstrong had beaten Zulle for his very first Tour victory by seven and a half minutes, six minutes of which were lost very early in the race on stage 2 with the Passage du Gois.
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Dorian Gray
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2006-07-03, 21:07

Robbie McEwen took the second stage with a typical McEwen finish: appearing out of nowhere at the last moment to pip the others at the line. The guy is amazing, he doesn't seem to need a lead-out train at all. Just latches onto anyone who's moving fast, finds a good line and jumps at the perfect moment. Bunch sprints look so chaotic that I always think luck must have a big effect on the outcome, but McEwen proves time and time again that luck has little to do with it. Fantastic stuff!

Glad to see Discovery didn't defend Hincapie's yellow, that would have been silly. I'm sure Discovery will be strong this year despite Armstrong's retirement.
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AWR
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2006-07-04, 06:13

Those sprint finishes are so wild, violent even. The force that gets put into those frames ... it's a wonder more don't snap (especially considering how light they are).

Those last 300 yards are pure mayhem, combined with unbelievable technical skill and brute force.

I miss Chippo out there; not that I was a fan of his, and he was a wuss for never finishing the race, but it was always exciting to see if he was going to tag somebody after a bumpy finish. McEwen would drop him like a sack of gnocchi, I reckon, and Chippo would have to drop out before the first climb > 2kms.
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beardedmacuser
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2006-07-04, 10:05

Ooh... and another big name favourite is out of this years Tour. Pro Tour leader Alejandro Valverde has crashed and is going home in an ambulance tonight!
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AWR
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2006-07-04, 11:39

And I heard Dekker and Freddy Rodriguez were out too.

bmu, at this rate a team might pick you up as a domestique during you Alp stay.
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beardedmacuser
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2006-07-04, 11:50

A sad way for Erik Dekker to end his career. Rather gruesome photo of the crash aftermath at Eurosport here.

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beardedmacuser
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2006-07-05, 04:38

I was going to recommend interested folk take a look at Graham Watson's website. He's a top bike race photographer and he usually has photos of the days stage on his website by the end of the day.

But then on Monday I noticed Apple have a feature on him, and his Aperture-based workflow here. Not only is he a top photographer of bike races, but he's a fellow Mac user!
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Dorian Gray
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2006-07-07, 15:22

Amazing: the Aussie pocket rocket won his third stage today, again without a proper lead-out train. Talking afterwards, McEwen said, "We had to chase down a couple of moves earlier in the day and in the sprint 'Steeg' [McEwen's sole lead-out man] did the same perfect job as he did on Stage Four… We got it a bit wrong yesterday (Thursday) but we talked about it last night. Today it was like sitting on a TGV and all I had to do was get off at my stop."

Must be nice. Poor Tom Boonen really can't seem to get it together at the moment. Too much pâté perhaps? (By the way, I long for the day cyclists will get product placement in the UK!!!)
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AWR
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2006-07-08, 13:13

Interesting stuff in today's ITT. Gonchar out in front by a considerable margin over everyone but Landis (who was a minute or so behind Gonchar). Hincapie and Leiphemer got blown away. Rogers is hanging in there; podium potential? Sad to see Julich go out. He's old school by today's standards, even took third in '98.

Anyway, I think today's result is great for this year's race. Plenty of suspense left and obviously no clear Armstrong, Ullrich, Basso 1, 2, 3.

Now to football. Come on Germany!!

Who's to join for gruyere bacon burgers on the grill with chilled Cote de Rhone?

Last edited by AWR : 2006-07-09 at 10:31.
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AWR
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2006-07-10, 04:25

A nice snap of McEwen's ride. Interesting front fork joint. I've never heard of 'Ridley' before.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2006...ikes6/IMG_0911
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Dorian Gray
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2006-07-10, 08:14

Ridley is a relatively young Belgian outfit which started life as a frame painting company. A lot of cyclists in Belgium use them (might even be the most popular brand there) but they're not exactly famous in the UK, although I have seen a few on the streets of London. I've never ridden one but they're known for being very stiff (and maybe a bit heavier than the ultra-light Cervelos/Treks/BMCs/etc.), so the Noah is probably a good frame for a sprinter like McEwen.

Nice of Ridley to paint a Noah green to match McEwen's green jersey!
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AWR
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2006-07-12, 02:53

Should be a fun day today; the initial sort out commences with a couple of nice bumps (although the downhill finish probably means that whoever gets over the last climb first and together will probably finish together as well). I wouldn't be surprised if Leipheimer (and a handful of others) tries an escape on the first (haut categorie) climb to gain some time after the dismal ITT. (Sorry for the lame and predictable prediction. )

Saw this bit in the Guardian daily rap up [edit: I mean wrap-up ]. Was impressed at the humor AND ability involved. If I tried to HEED someone on a bike even at 20kms/h I'd likely be on my ass. Nevermind after a sprint with McEwen, Freire, Zabel and Boonen (between them 26 TdF stage wins!).

"For the last two days France has been talking about nothing but headbutts and yesterday McEwen produced his own nod to Zinédine Zidane by playfully walloping Freire with his bonce as they passed over the line. McEwen was the first man to be disqualified from a Tour stage for a Glasgow kiss last year, but this was merely one hard man's salute to another. France probably wishes Zidane could say the same."

Last edited by AWR : 2006-07-12 at 09:20.
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Dorian Gray
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2006-07-12, 09:50

McEwen is as mad as he is entertaining to watch!

I was awfully disappointed for Bobby Julich in the TT, he would have had a real chance in this Tour. The crash was terrible (video here), leaving him with bone and tendons exposed in his wrist, although thankfully his hip was [relatively] okay. Apparently his front wheel hit some gravel.

Looks like we'll have a French rider in yellow for a change: today's break is not going to be caught.
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beardedmacuser
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2006-07-12, 10:29

Despite wearing the yellow jersey, apparently Honchar was working today to help his T-Mobile team including fetching water bottles!
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